Battleship 2023 - Main Sign-Up Prompts - ASOIAF / GoT / F&B: alley

alley_skywalker

Battleship 2023 - Main Sign-Up Prompts - ASOIAF / GoT / F&B

Jul 09, 2023 23:08

AO3 name: Alley_Skywalker

These are prompts for the ASOIAF, GoT, and Fire & Blood requests in my main sign up. If you're looking for prompts for the main sign-up requests for Harry Potter or Romeo & Juliet those are HERE.

Dear Battleship Creator,

First, thank you for creating for me! In my sign-up I picked a bunch of tags that could be cool/fun/desired elements in fic (or art) and I didn't c/p them here to save time/space, but please also don't feel limited by those tags necessarily, as I also have a list of likes (below) that may or may not overlap with the chosen tags. I also have a bunch of thoughts/prompts about/for these ships which I put below, so if you want more ideas than just the tags/general likes there's a bunch here!

GENERAL STUFF

Likes:

A focus on the romantic/emotional aspect of a relationship and some semblance of a plot/point rather than just sex.
Mutual pining, especially if it's secretly requited pining and the parties think it's unrequited. (Unrequited pining can be nice too.)
Complicated relationship dynamics, love triangles, relationships that take some effort/time to work, loving each other but because [insert reasons here] not always being able to be together/communicate those feelings, etc in this vain.
UST. Eventually resolved is probably better than not, however, not a must-have (and I'm more interested in the romantic tension getting resolved, than the sexual tension anyway).
Conversely from the above - romantic partners who just can’t help but adore each other.
Kissing, hugging, holding hands, cuddling/snuggling, non-sexual physical contact in general. (Special shout out to face touching, forehead kisses and hand kisses!)
Physical affection in non-romantic relationships.
Praise kink (in the sense that there’s a lot of emotional investment in and getting-off on getting praised or otherwise acknowledged as worthwhile. Works especially well with characters who are deeply insecure. I’m generally fond of other related things, such as body worship, partners being encouraging during sex in a very sweet, reassuring way, etc).
Hurt/comfort!!! (Both physical and emotional. With physical hurt/comfort I love a lot of touching and tenderness and stuff like that.)
LOYALTY KINK! Themes of loyalty and devotion in general. Protectiveness.
Related to the above, I enjoy explorations of divided/conflicted loyalties in various contexts.
Friendship, family (dynamics), platonic love.
Backstories, especially childhood fics.
Fluff, banter, flirting.
Well-rounded characters, characters with emotions/sympathetic motives; the “other side of the story.”
Politics, intrigue; plot (if you already happen to be that way inclined).
Worldbuilding, especailly in fantasy and historical settings.
Angst, drama. (Please don’t try to use this as a challenge to see how many angst/dark tropes you can fit into a single fic. I have no issue with dark themes and things like character death don’t bother me much in most cases, but if it feels like it’s just a marathon of horrible things happening…that’s a little too intense for me. Exceptions apply if a specific prompt calls for dark!fic or similar endless angst.)
Humor is fun too, but I like it more as an element in the story rather than a story that sets out to be funny first and foremost.

Art Likes

Bright colors and/or well-lit scenes.
Nature settings.
Water imagery and settings (oceans, rivers, rain).
Tenderness and physical affection - kissing, holding hand, cuddling, etc.
Re above, special shout-outs to forehead kisses, face touching, hand kissing, rubbing noses.
Caretaking and hurt/comfort - everything from bandaging wounds to spoon feeding a sick/injured. character to holding someone as they cry to fixing someone’s tie or helping them put on cufflinks/armor/other item of clothing.
Fancy clothes (and armor); heraldry; culture-specific costumes/clothes.
Balls, festivals, scenes of dancing generally.
For my het ships: weddings; family portraits; scenes with their children.
For requesting involving Theon: love that boy with a bow!
(Please don't feel limited by this list! I'm sure I'll love whatever you draw! These are just some things that came to my mind, but I'm not that great at describing art/what exactly I like in it, so don't take this as any kind of comprehensive list.)

Dp Not Wants

Threesomes/moresomes and polyamory (unless requested/prompted or canon).
Incest (unless requested or explicitly canon; this DNW does not include cousins).
Pairings with age gaps over 10 years (unless canon for a requested ship).
Minors under 16 in sexual/romantic relationships with adults (one-sided teenage crushes on adults are fine).
On-screen sex with characters under 16 (mentions/reference to teenage sexual experimentation is ok; kissing/low rating romance-y stuff also ok).
Explicit rating and PWPs; above T/PG-13 rating in art.
Healing cock.
BDSM, omegaverse, and most kink. (NOT included in this: foreplay; bantery/lighthearted roleplay for the purposes of foreplay; preferences for a certain sexual position, fascination with a partner’s physical trait, such as, e.g., preferring redheads or virgins or younger partners or being fascinated by someone’s shoulders; rough/aggressive/desperate sex or outside-of-bedroom inequalities that transfer into the bedroom, even though there may be pining down of wrists or some other element that could be considered a kink or part of BDSM; anything specifically listed as a “like”).
Foot fetishes (I know I said liking specific body parts is fine, but this is the exception).
Humiliation (both sexual and not); glorification of bullying.
Non-con/rape (dub-con that leans toward/ends up as consensual is ok).
Mpreg.
Crack!fic, parody.
AUs that subvert the universe or drastically change the setting (e.g.: setting change AUs like Coffee Shop, Modern, In Space, etc. This includes stuff like A/B/O and inserting (non-canon) magic/supernatural elements into a universe where those things don't canonically exist).
Crossovers.
Time travel.
Apocalypse/post-apocalypse scenarios, regardless of whether done as an AU or some kind of post-canon possibility thing. (Exception for when this setting is explicitly canon.)
Horror; graphic gore.
Torture. (Mentions of canon events that involve torture is ok.)
Parental favoritism presented in a positive/non-negative light by the narrative.
Ccross-dressing; genderbending/genderswap; non-canonical genders and gender headcanons in general.
Narrative implications that “sex = love” or that romantic partners HAVE to have sex to have a “valid” relationship or to be “really” in love with each other.

FANDOMS

Game of Thrones

Fandom-specific DNWs

Fics set during Theon’s canonical captivity by Ramsay and AU situations where Theon is still captured by Ramsay, unless it’s a “captured together” scenario with Robb.
Ramsay/Theon; Jaime/Brienne.
Stories where the narrative implications/main theme/point is that Theon should have chosen the Starks over his own family and/or that they were the best thing to happen to him, etc along those lines - this can be a point of contention/conflict between characters but not a narrative posture or widely accepted POV outside Northern characters.
Theon begging Robb to take him back/get back together/be friends again after a breakup/fight (normal apologizing for past hurtful actions is fine, though also, whatever mess they’re in I’d rather it not be/not be presented as all Theon’s fault).\
Theon thinking Robb is "too good" for him or having similar insecurities.

To clarify my general DNWs, I realize that there is a lot of torture/violence/gore in this fandom, and it’s fine to mention anything that happens in canon (e.g. Boltons flaying people, Stannis burning people) and non-graphic descriptions of canon-typical violence. I just don’t want graphic/prolonged descriptions/scenes. If it’s a fic that’s set post-Ramsay, I realize that Theon’s trauma from that experience may feature in some way, but I’d rather not have very graphic flashbacks, etc, or for it to be the entire/exclusive focus (esp. in a trauma-porn sort of way), and if that means setting the fic further in the future, that’s totally fine by me.

Theon Greyjoy/Robb Stark
I have so many feelings about this ship but also so many of them are really sad? Because, realistically, this relationship is kinda toxic. I’m not saying that in like a Purity Police way or anything, but just the power dynamics, and the fact that Robb is not above employing them when it suits him/when he’s ticked off, means that there is a lot of tension and angst and shit involved - it’s not just fluff and Cute ™. Also Alfie certainly chose to play this a Certain Way where Theon is basically making heart eyes at Robb the whole time. And Robb….never really reciprocates and is kinda cold/distant a lot? Like he sort of is generally reserved here, but it’s kinda jarring when Theon seems to desperately be giving his all - it reads a bit like unrequited love. Although! My favorite way to go here is that Robb is just kind of repressed/unable to deal with his feelings or whatever and never says the things he means/feels. Or maybe (if they’ve got a FWB type thing going) takes it for granted and just assumes that Theon knows his feelings, completely failing to understand that Theon does not actually expect for love and affection to be handed to him and does in fact need it spelled out.

Like, ok, Theon has self-guilt trips in canon about his defection (and other shit he did, admittedly) and that’s plenty explored in fic. But I’d love some Robb angst! Robb pining uselessly (and guiltily. angrily?) after Theon defects, being baffled by why Theon walked away from him, and pissed off, but then actually taking a moment to think through the why and realizing all the ways in which he’d screwed up with this relationship (and just how hurtful things like the Bran incident and the “not your duty, not your house” putdown would have been). I’m open to various takes on what their relationship was beforehand. Maybe Robb is repressed and didn't fully realize his feelings until after Theon left. Maybe Robb was repressed but realized his feelings but knew fuck all what to do with them, not to mention how to express them. Maybe they were casual and never managed to have like A Conversation about their feelings/relationship. Maybe they were lovers and Robb is really confused/pissed at first but then slowly realizes that they hadn't been communicating well/things had been off for a while. (Maybe the fact that Robb never directly addressed the hostage issue after his father died and before sending Theon to Pyke put a strain on things?)

Or you know something lighter would be amazing too! Mutual pining that does get resolved and ends up in them getting together. Banter and being really awkward about their feelings. Worrying about each other’s safety now and again during the war (especially Robb worrying about Theon). (Because, ok, IDK if this will make sense, it does in my head, but like…I’m a lot more invested in Robb being in love with Theon, regardless of whether he manages to confess it or not, than vice-versa, but it’s also important to me that the feelings are actually requited/they’re both in love with each other.)

The mandatary hurt/comfort prompt (lol) - Robb having (another) break down the night he finds out his father is dead and Theon comforting him. Maybe with unexpected tenderness. Could be they’re mutually pining too or could be this is when they end up kissing for the first time. But really, any hurt/comfort scenario you can think of would be great! I especially love the interplay of hurt/comfort and pining! For example, the idea of the pining character receiving care and comfort from someone they’re in love with and both desperately wanting/needing that comfort and realizing how hard it is to keep their feelings under control (and maybe ultimately failing to) when they’re in a more vulnerable state. And in reverse: the tenderness and stress of caring for the object of their affection and wanting to be even MOAR sweet but also feeling like they need to hide it. With someone who seems to have as difficult a time with communicating and processing feelings as Robb, this can all be extra fun! (And I think I’d especially prefer his POV here.)

Maybe also an AU where Theon decides to go back to Robb instead of defecting to his family, but he’s hurt in the “escape” from Pyke/on his way back and shows up in camp in pretty bad shape and Robb’s got to deal with both the practicality of the political situation this leaves them in while also providing comfort/care for Theon…and pining, maybe especially hard and guiltily as he realizes how much Theon’s decided to give up for him. (In this situation though, I'll say that it's really important for me that Theon stands up for himself and his decisions. In the show especially he's decently good at not letting Robb walk all over him/calling Robb out on his BS, so while he might be nervous and uncertain about how Robb will react, I'd rather they fight/argue if there's reason to, like if Theon appears to have considered a defection or had to pretend to take part for a while, than Theon completely falling all over himself to get Robb to take him back or acting like Robb would do him the greatest favor ever if he does.)

For some extra drama and whump - I love those “captured together” scenarios where the ship has to provide care/comfort for each other after interrogation/torture or them being forced to watch each other’s interrogations or getting one of them to do/say something with the threat of hurting the other. (Per my DNWs I don’t want really extreme or gory torture, nothing Ramsay-esque, but like…characters getting generally beat up is ok; being threatened with more extreme torture is also ok.) If they’re pining during - extra great! If there’s dramatic escapes and/or politics or whatever also involved - even better!

Would love some kind of AU where Theon makes some smarter choices, e.g. sacks Winterfell, grabs Bran and Rickon, and goes to Deepwood Motte to join Yara/back to the Iron Islands with them as hostages. The really tense negotiations with Robb, or facing off against each other in battle somehow. (The conflict! Also I just want Theon in command and kicking ass, lbr *sigh*.) A fortune reversal where Robb ends up a POW in this AU at whatever stronghold Theon/Theon and Yara are holding. Would love them to get a chance to work out their shit where they are on a more equal footing - and both being forced to confront their mistakes (Theon obviously defecting, but Robb having to come to terms with what position Theon really was in with his family and how he was definitely not sensitive enough to that). Any kind of ending tone here you want (though I’d very much prefer Theon not losing or at least him and Robb being equally screwed) - happy (somehow…) or bittersweet or even sad.

I generally love fortune reversal AUs for them! For example:

Robb growing up a hostage on Pyke instead of the other way around, or being captured in an ironborn raid in a ‘verse where the rebellion never happened/Theon was never a hostage. (I’ll say that I believe that if Theon grew up with his family he would have had a good relationship with his sister and a decent one at least with his father. It would have probably been a Tywin-and-Jaime type situation if he was the heir and, if his brothers were still alive, he would have probably just been a bit ignored in favor of them, but not mistreated as such. A lot of the tension between Theon and his family in canon is because of the hostage situation/he had been away for so long.)
Theon never goes to Pyke and is with Robb at the Red Wedding. Everything happens as in canon, but the boys manage to escape. Robb is now a king without the majority of his army whom everyone believes dead. So what do they do? (I guess not exactly fortune reversal, since Theon has still been written off by his fam. But! Actually, I would love some twist that while they’re hiding out, Balon dies. Theon decides to go home to try to reclaim his birthright and Robb comes along because he’s kinda got nowhere else to go at the moment. Cue them teaming up with Yara to get rid of Euron and Robb fighting for Theon’s cause for a change. Maybe Yara ends up as Queen or she and Theon as co-rulers and Theon goes back temporarily with Robb to help him reclaim the North. Or maybe Sansa and Jon have already reclaimed the North while they were busy with Euron and Robb stays with Theon on the Islands, leaving Sansa to rule in Winterfell?) (Re: Robb's wife in this scenario: I'm ok with them never getting married and maybe the Freys just go ahead with the RW even though Robb's the groom because they figured the Lannisters have more to offer after all or whatever. But they can also get married and she dies at the RW - maybe she was Robb's rebound because he and Theon fought/broke up for some reason, e.g. Robb not addressing the hostage situation until he's forced to.)
Theon defects but doesn’t take Winterfell. He’s mired in winning back his father’s approval, maybe he's even making progress (if not with Balon) than with his people) when they hear about the RW. Balon decides to make a renewed strike at the North while it’s so weak, so they capture the Dreadfort (maybe while the majority of Bolton forces have gone to siege Winterfell or whatever other reason). Meanwhile, Robb has survived the RW but has been taken prisoner by Ramsay… (I realize it doesn’t make a ton of sense for them to go for the Dreadfort because it’s on the other coast, but feel free to handwave this.)

I always enjoyed those Balon-rebels-early AUs that explore the inevitable dark side of Theon's hostage situation. Usually, it's Ned who has to do the execution and Robb has to choose to get involved or not one way or another - which is always cool. But for a level up in angst - what if there’s some situation where Robb would be expected to do it? (Maybe they're already at war/Ned has been executed or maybe Robb is acting Lord of Winterfell during the time that Ned is in King's Landing but before they go to war.) And then Robb has to make a decision. How this ends is totally up to you. Canonically, I think Robb would probably go through with it because something something honor, but that’s super sad, so I’m very open to other endings, But even if Robb doesn’t go through with it, how does that affect their relationship? Does it lead to a realization of feelings for each other/leads to confession of hidden feelings? Does it actually screw things up because Theon is pissed that Robb even considered it/thought Robb should have put an end to the hostage thing as soon as he became Lord of Winterfell? Like it’s such a psychologically taxing situation to be in and definitely traumatizing for Theon…

A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin

Fandom-specific DNWs

Fics set during Theon’s canonical captivity by Ramsay and AU situations where Theon is still captured by Ramsay, unless it’s a “captured together” scenario with Robb or Tris.
Ramsay/Theon; Jaime/Brienne.
Stories where the narrative implications/main theme/point is that Theon should have chosen the Starks over his own family and/or that they were the best thing to happen to him, etc along those lines - this can be a point of contention/conflict between characters but not a narrative posture or widely accepted POV outside Northern characters.
Theon begging Robb to take him back/get back together/be friends again after a breakup/fight (normal apologizing for past hurtful actions is fine, though also, whatever mess they’re in I’d rather it not be/not be presented as all Theon’s fault).
Theon thinking Robb is "too good" for him or having similar insecurities.

Theon makes somewhat better decisions after defecting from Robb to his family (a choice which, in and of itself I completely understand and support, let’s just say straight up) and either never takes Winterfell or takes Winterfell but leaves shortly after with Bran and Rickon as hostages… And then he has to deal with his internal conflicts and also earning his people’s/family’s trust even though he kind of resents having to, but Dagmer’s right that like…his ability to bond with them was disrupted by the time he was away. (Not that Balon is right or not a complete asshole. But also maybe if Theon brings some Stark kids as hostages, things will go at least a tiny bit better there - although, maybe on the other hand he kinda hates the idea of having to take these kids as hostages just to impress his dad, because he knows how much the hostage thing sucks). What does this have to do with Tris? I mean basically, whatever the plot backdrop is, part of Theon finding his place on the Iron Islands and in the ironborn war efforts would, in this case, also involve him and Tris falling in love. (Bonus points if they at some point bond over their first loves (Robb and Asha, respectively) being people who don’t love them back.)
AU where Tris is one of the men of Theon’s crew when he goes raiding and takes Winterfell. (Do things still happen as in canon and they're doomed or is Tris able to counteract Ramsay's bad influence/keep Theon from spiraling so completely?) And relatedly -- if they're still doomed and get captured together, I love the scenario of The Ship having to provide comfort/care for each other while being held cpative together, maybe their captors using them against each other (or trying to). Especially sweet if they're secretly pining for one another during all this or have a Feelings Reailzation moment! And really, the captured together scenario doesn't have to be via Ramsay - could be any other AU set-up.
Balon dies unexpectedly just prior to Theon’s arrival on Pyke and either Theon takes his place as heir (and does the alliance with Robb) or, hell, maybe Asha beats him in a Kingsmoot or whatever (although, I’m not sure how the kingsmoot would happen with a clear line of succession but whatever), but once she’s won, she’s less intent on alienating him than her father was, and decides to go along with the proposed alliance. Or! Maybe they don’t do the alliance and go to war with the North anyway but things pan our differently with Theon’s decision-making. So, Theon and Tris go to war together…and fall in love.
AU where Theon is never taken hostage - because Balon wins the rebellion or because the rebellion never happens - and he and Tris get together. They both seem like people who aren’t perfect fits for the Ironborn culture and maybe this pulls them together. Maybe, if Theon had stuck around, Tris would fall in love with a different Greyjoy sibling ;) (Though, I’ll say that I don’t think Theon’s relationship with his father, or Asha, would have been so strained if the hostage thing didn’t happen. I’d imagine him and Asha growing up pretty close and then with Balon…it would likely be complicated, given what kind of person Balon is, but far more within reasonable bounds than what we get in ACOK.)

As I mentioned, I’m cool with post-Ramsay/canon-compliant stuff! Tell me all the things! What do they get up to in the WoW timeframe? How do they win the Iron Islands back from Euron? What happens during the war with the Others? Also, farther-future fic with Asha ruling the Iron Islands and Theon being one of her top commanders/councilors and finding his place on the Islands while also getting together with Tris sounds like such a feel-good happy ending, you know?

Theon Greyjoy/Jeyne Poole
Preliminarily, I will say that I don't mind if you age Jeyne up a couple of years if it's needed for timeline things. ANYWAY, I love this ship both for thematic reasons and also just as a straight up love story - the desperation, the shared angst, the heroic/daring escape, and the chance to find happiness and understanding in each other! And, really there are so many things about them but the one that’s underappreciated I feel like is Jeyne’s pre-series/AGOT era crush on/attraction to Theon. (She likes older guys, clearly, ok. That’s not an abnormal teenager thing lol.) And, of course, then when she meets him again he’s not nearly the attractive, dashing boy he used to be, but he saves her - he saves her when before he probably paid her no attention at all. And it’s like…it’s that story of the girl who grew up in her prettier/better-off/more popular bff’s shadow getting the guy she’s always wanted, and yet…not really? Because it’s not exactly a fairytale and Theon is not the boy he used to be (and yet…in some ways he still is).

But anyway, I just want some of them falling in love and being in love. Idiots to Lovers is great for them. as is pining. What were they up to during the war? Would love to see Jeyne meeting Asha and maybe some other people Theon knows/who are part of his life (what do they think of her? Who does he tell them she is/what is she to him?). What kind of life do they build together? (Do they adopt a child? Or, fuck it, canon is vague enough about this that it’s not strictly speaking acononical/AU to say that Theon still has the ability to procreate, if you catch my drift. Let them have a whole bunch of babies lol.) Does she stick with him from the moment they escape or are they separated at some point and then find each other later/after the war? Also, while I would enjoy fluff for them and definitely want a happy ending with this ship, the whole thing doesn’t have to be fluff. There can be angst and drama, both of the romantic sort and the We Are At War With Zombies/Euron type. (inevitably, their mutual trauma and trauma recovery will likely be a theme, but I’d rather the trauma/PTSD aspect not be the only/overwhelming aspect of the fic.)

Tristifer Botley/Sansa Stark
Tristifer Botley/Jeyne Poole
More soft het ships! Love both of these girls and think they deserve a chance at love with someone sweet and romantic! (And as much as I ship Theyne, Theon isn’t exactly a great candidate for a relaxing boyfriend, bless him.) Tris is the kind of guy who would love his girlfriend/wife and be sweet and likely family oriented, and that’s exactly the kind of man Sansa and Jeyne dreamed about in their girlhood. Well, maybe not exactly - I doubt Sansa imagined her future husband to be ironborn, for one - but the general idea of someone kind and gallant and who’d put her first. And it would be good for him too - Asha didn’t want any of these soft, sweet, romantic chivalry things (from him or anyone else) but it’s clearly Tris’ preferred way to love and either of these girls would appreciate it.

I’m up for any scenario to make these happen really! Post-canon obviously works great (especially given the ages, etc). Jeyne coming to the Islands with Theon after the war as friends/found family and meeting Tris there, or perhaps meeting him in Stannis camp/on the way up to the Wall in WoW. All kinds of post-canon or AU arranged marriage situations for both ships would be super fun too (e.g. some North-Iron Islands treaty that gets secured with marriages).

Theon Greyjoy & Robb Stark
Theon Greyjoy/Robb Stark
Ok, so given their age difference in the books (some 4 and a half years) I especially like the platonic older/younger brother dynamic for the book version of these two. (Although I do still love books!canon shipfic of course!) And ahhh I would really, really love some childhood fluff or hurt/comfort or even some angst. How close they are in the books is a bit ambiguous. We never get Robb’s POV at all, though he clearly trusts Theon at least in a professional capacity, and Robb is the one person Theon regrets hurting with his defection to his family/from the Starks. (I mean, to be clear, I don’t think he owed the Starks anything, including Robb, but canonically Theon has regrets about it, specifically when it comes to Robb.) But it doesn’t seem too much of a stretch to say they were at least kind of close, to the extent their age difference and general difficulty of the situation allowed.

So…how do they get there? Is it Robb following around the new older boy and being a cutie that finally breaks through Theon’s defenses? Does Theon just really, really need a friend so he doesn’t go crazy and Robb’s the best option, but then they end up bonding? Really any cute childhood adventures would be great - especially anything with Theon in a (perhaps unwilling/unintentional) mentorship role. (And ahaha how annoyed Cat would be that her Pride and Joy has taken a shining to this Suspicious ™ Greyjoy boy who’s a bad influence.) Actually, maybe something about Theon being a bad influence on Robb, but like in a mostly harmless way - teaches him how to sneak out, teaching him not-quite-age-appropriate stories/jokes/things about sex. For a more hurt/comfort angle (!!!) - tiny Robb really attaching to Theon, just deciding this is his older brother now so he’s gonna like crawl into his bed when he has a nightmare or conscript him into telling him stories when he’s unwell, and all the while Theon is like “I really did not sign up for this shit” but secretly he’s really, embarrassingly soft for this stupid child. (But also - I think there’s implications that Theon sometimes has nightmares about the siege of Pyke, and those were probably more intense when he was much younger so…an unexpected role reversal?)

For something more sad…Ned taking Theon to executions and making him squire is just fgbsdfhklgfh. So like…Ned taking Robb to his first execution when he’s maybe just a little older than Bran was his first time (so maybe 8) and then Theon has to go too and it’s also his first one. And they’re both really shaken, but for different reasons (Theon doesn’t have his laugh-about-everything-always defensive mechanisms worked out yet) and kinda take comfort in each other in a way. Or…maybe at some point when they’re both in the teenage/pre-teen era, there’s some troubling news from the Islands and the boys jump the gun with panic and whether or not The Time has come for Ned to take Theon’s head. (And maybe they try to run away/escape…)

I enjoy the fanon that Grey Wind takes a special liking to Theon, moreso than the other direwolves. The implication usually I guess is that it's because Robb likes Theon so much, but it would be fun/natural if it's also just that Robb and Theon spent a lot of time together and Theon got roped into helping Robb take care of his new puppy.

But I’m also totally into stories from when they’re older/canon-era, and a more romantic slant on their relationship is also welcome. As well as all the role reversal and canon-divergence AUs! For the sake of not making this super long letter any longer by repeating the exact same prompts, feel free to use any of the prompts in the above GoT section that I gave for them with either a platonic or romantic slant (most of them should be workable for book canon and dynamics as well, and I think the tensions between them/in their relationship are similar ultimately, even if book!Robb is younger and thus reads softer (at least at the start) and Theon doesn’t give off quite as strong unrequited love vibes as in the show, and just generally there is a shift in dynamic due to the age gap).

Theon Greyjoy & Asha Greyjoy
Balon Greyjoy & Theon Greyjoy
Theon Greyjoy & Any Greyjoy Family Member
So Theon’s family is all kinds of weird and screwed up. I mean Euron is his uncle, just that… But I do sometimes think that how bad/miserable his family life was pre-Balon’s Rebellion gets a bit exaggerated. We have every indication that his mother loves him, and there’s no reason to think that Balon hated him even before he was taken away to the North. Balon’s not a warm kind of guy, but his treatment of Theon in ACOK seems mostly spurred by the fact they’re estranged/haven’t bonded in many years, Balon’s suspicious of him, and feels like Theon no longer fits into the Ironborn ways. It’s perfectly possible that they had a much more promising, if not particularly affectionate, relationship when Theon was a child. I mean, he was at the very least expecting his father to be happy to have him back and all. Maybe he and Asha weren’t close but it becomes apparent later on that they do love each other - the circumstances and context of their reunion in ACOK just sucked. I can certainly see them as teasing, squabbling children, who nonetheless care intensely about each other as siblings tend to.

I'd love something about Theon and his relationship with his father that's set pre-canon, a look at how things had been, how they were different and in what ways the same. But I'd also love to see an AU - especially one where things go a little better for Theon. Maybe the Rebellion never happens, or maybe they win, or maybe things happen as in canon but then Theon brings Bran and Rickon back as hostages instead of staying at Winterfell and Balon is forced to do a bit of a double-take at his son because, yea, that's a real achievement and a war-winning sort of victory, as Asha pointed out in ACOK. Not that everything would be suddenly be ok between them, but I love the potential for complicated dynamics.

And then there's his siblings. Rodrik we know Theon had no good relationship with, but what about Maron? Equally bad or something more in between? Was there ever a time when he idolized his brothers? We don't have a concrete canonical age for Maron, but my headcanon is that he's about 5 years older. It's interesting to me that Theon describes Rodrik as being physically abusive and Maron as more verbally mean and a liar. I wonder if maybe there was a time when Theon and Maron were closer, but then Maron got older and was more interested in following Rodrik/trying to impress his older brother? Is Theon extra bitter about maybe some mean things Maron said/some lie he told because he felt left behind or betrayed by his brother? I would love an exploration of a more complicated relationship between them than just "Theon's brothers were abusive and that's it." I would just love some worldbuilding around this family and Theon’s childhood with them - especially Maron and Asha.

Alternatively, if you’d like, one of my fanciful wish lists for WOW is like…Theon helping overturn the kingsmoot and endgame for the Greyjoy siblings being Asha as Queen of the Iron Islands and Theon as her top commander, getting to live his best Ironborn life and be happy for once, gah. (Or even them being co-rulers?!?!)

Dagmer Cleftjaw & Theon Greyjoy
Don’t we all wish Dagmer was Theon’s dad instead of Balon? Ahah. No, but seriously, I love how warm and familiar this relationship feels, how comfortable they are with each other after all these years. Like, everyone else is suspicious or derisive or indifferent to Theon after all his time away, and Dagmer is just…not. He looks at him and sees that kid he trained, the one he’d clearly cared about and still supports and stands by. He knows Theon really well, sees through his facades, and Theon doesn’t even really find this embarrassing, even in the hypersensitive state he’s in during ACOK. And every memory Theon seems to have of Dagmer is largely positive - that’s so rare for him! No wonder he’s sort of “adopted” Dagmer as his uncle.

I would love anything about them, really. I love explorations of Theon as a child pre-rebellion. (And I hold to the opinion that while the Greyjoys were always a highly dysfunctional family, Theon wasn’t especially miserable as a kid either.) But anyway, yes - anything about Theon’s childhood and Dagmer’s role in it.

But I would also enjoy something about when Theon comes back to Pyke. Maybe Dagmer’s POV on the situation. What does he think about Theon now that he’s grown up? Does he make any active attempts to mentor Theon through the drama with his father/men/overall situation of being a bit of an outsider, or does he expect this to shift into more of a friendship between adults? If they are reunited after Theon’s time with Ramsay, how does that all go?

Renly Baratheon & Theon Greyjoy
Theon Greyjoy & Tyrion Lannister
Theon Greyjoy & Jaime Lannister
Theon Greyjoy & Patrek Mallister
Ah yes the "let's give Theon some friends besides Robb" requests and/or the "AUs where Theon is a hostage elsewhere" requests :D

I've always kinda loved the idea of Renly and Theon bonding. It is, to an extent, more of a lighthearted fantasy - them hanging out in King's Landing, being hyper fashionable, gossiping about everyone else who's not up to par. Maybe this happens because Theon's a hostage in KL, maybe he's technically still a Stark hostage but Ned gets appointed Hand of the King early on. But I'd also love an AU where Theon and Renly grow up together if Theon is a hostage at Storm's End (with Stannis as the responsible party?? I'm not sure who would be in this case.) It's interesting to me how this situation would likely be in some parts similar to his situation with the Starks and yet in other parts very different. The relationship with Renly would certainly have echoes of Theon's relationship with Robb - Renly also being the very amiable, loved-by-everyone, easy-lordship type of companion, but he'd be closer to Theon in age (in fact only a couple of years older) and maybe even a little closer in personality and certain interests. (They could terrorize Stannis together as teenagers lol.) And then how do these differences change things during the WOT5K? Theon would still have most of his issues probably, but then maybe he's in a less difficult situation choice-wise? Balon isn't looking to attack the Reach after all. What kind of relationship does Theon end up having with Loras and Margaery? Just so many possibilities!

Then there's the "hostage at Casterly Rock" AU. In some ways this is clearly worse for Theon. Tywin is much more of an asshole than Ned, but how much Tywin actually cares to make Theon's life shitty is questionable - he's already got Tyrion for that. Theon would certainly be in a bit of a hard spot for friends. Jaime by age would be closer to a father figure than a brother, though someone who'd have no interest in being a father figure to anyone and also always in KL. Tyrion, while only...five? years older would be a non-ideal playmate for Theon, first because of personality differences, and second because Theon might feel that above the overall cultural prejudice he'd also feel, he might be disadvantaged by showing too much favor to the son Tywin clearly hates. On the other hand, if Tywin is away at King’s Landing a lot and Tyrion and Theon are left more to themselves, plus child!Theon clearly not having built up a lot of his defense mechanisms and being a kid in much need of love and compassion…I’d be really interested in seeing them somehow make something out of this?

With Jaime, I’m fascinated by some of the parallels they have going on like 1) the inevitability of stuck between two or more loyalties and having no choice to betray someone/something (“so many vows, they make you swear and swear”), 2) both being Robb’s prisoner/hostage/etc in one form or another at one time or another, 3) the angst of being accused of things you didn’t do or were actually in your right to do (Jaime with Aerys; the Bolton’s blaming Theon for burning Winterfell, but also the “he betrayed the Starks” when he was the Starks’ hostage and didn’t owe them loyalty to begin with). So I’d love some interactions between them. Don’t know what kind of relationship and in what circumstances they could build, but I’d be interested to find out.

With Patrek - I love the potential these two have as a friendship just from what we get in canon! Would certainly love an exploration of loyalty themes. This is very intertwined with their broader set of loyalties and priorities - their families, the sides of the war they're on, their other friends. I love the idea that they really managed to "click" in the short time they had together, but then of course, canon happens...how does Patrek deal with that? What were things like when they were still on the same side, how did they expect things to go in the future? Alternatively, would love to see a post-canon reunion! I’d love for them to be thrust into some kind of situation together either in post-canon or during the War for the Dawn where they have to work together and end up rebuilding trust and seeing each other’s point of view on things.

AUs are always fun! What if Theon never went to Pyke and instead ended up part of Patrek and Edmure’s riverlords friendship group? What if the Red Wedding still happens? That’s the first one that comes to mind, but canon-divergence scenarios are always interesting.

Edmure Tully & Petyr Baelish
I'd really enjoy an exploration of themes of loyalty/betrayal, the sort of family-like relationship formed between fostering families/wards while often still retaining some inherent power dynamics (and the issues that come with them) depending on the circumstances, friends and childhood, social and interpersonal trauma and the scars that it leaves. I was always really struck by the whole thing where Edmure squired for Brandon in the duel, but then tried to see Petyr afterwards. Knowing Edmure, he was probably insistent on it, but Petyr flat out refuses to see him, clearly feeling betrayed. Edmure’s squiring was likely a show of loyalty to his family, but there was guilt afterwards as well - unlike Cat and Lysa, who very clearly had sides here spurred by the romantic drama, he was more caught in the middle. So, I’d love anything exploring that clusterfuck of a situation. But, also, something more lighthearted set during their childhood would be great too - pranks and bonding and navigating the kind of thorny rank difference situation that the adults likely didn’t actually make any less awkward, even if they didn’t mean to. A reunion as adults (either pre or post canon) for these two would be so harrowing - the extent to which it would be abysmal would probably depend on the specific point in time when they meet. And canon-divergence AUs are always fun (e.g. what if by some fluke Petyr won the duel?).

Gerris Drinkwater/Quentyn Martell
I love Quent! I love that he’s sensitive and thoughtful and self-aware, but also intelligent and determined and actually quite brave (though foolishly so sometimes).

I would love to see something from their youth together, lots of banter and what shenanigans they might have gotten up to. Their first kiss. OMG, Quent’s perpetual social awkwardness and how much worse it would be if he were confronted with having romantic feelings and needing/wanting to reveal them - that would be an amusing scene. I admit to really enjoying the Prince/King and His Servant/Squire/Knight/What have you (knight, in this case) trope. Loyalty kink and hurt/comfort are your friends. If you just default to those two in their most iddy form I’d be perfectly content.(E.g. an AU where Quent survives the dragons incident but it still hurt and hurt/confort ensues.) Would love some angst with Gerris dealing with Quent's death, maybe with flasback's to their life back in Dorne. I would be so interested in an AU where Quent lives and succeeds in his mission somehow and goes back to Dorne victorious with Dany as his bride and there’s politics and pining and jealousy (and plot, but that's optional) and stuff. I’d eat that up with a spoon!

Patrek Mallister/Edmure Tully
Continuing from above the Rank Difference Loyalty Kink Edition :D I have to admit I don’t really have specific prompts, I think this is more a ship that catches my eye because it has the potential of a specific dynamic that I love and is positioned for tropes I’m into: hurt/comfort, loyalty themes, friendship and friendship-turned-romantic-love, banter - to name a few that come to mind immediately.

Edmure is probably my favorite non-POV secondary character. He tries so hard and is such a sweetheart who actually cares about his people and goes out of his way to help them, even when it’s not the most strategically practical thing to do. He’s brave and extremely loyal to his family (even when certain members of it treat him like shit for no reason…) But he’s got some interesting flaws working against him too: brashness, insecurity, pride. Patrek, on the other hand, seems super chill and laid back, but still clearly very loyal. Were they friends as kids? Did they meet for the first time as young adults? How did they get together? Patrek canonically does a threesome thing with Theon and a random girl and Edmure enjoys hooking up, apparently, so…Accidental Feelings Realization During Drunk Night Out isn’t a tag but you get the drift ;)

I’d love anything at any point on the temporal scale, really: pre-canon (Edmure and Patrek’s first meeting? Also, see above.), a missing scene (Edmure turning to Patrek after his father dies or something after the Red Wedding - so much good h/c potential!), post-canon (though in this case, would love them to have a decently happy ending). AU scenarios would be great too!

Jaime Lannister & Tyrion Lannister
I'd love to see some brotherly fluff and maybe hurt/comfort of some sort. Their typical snark/banter is welcome of course, but I don’t want this to be dark!fic, at least as far as their relationship goes. I would love a post-everything reconciliation and hugs. (Honestly, I might have made my peace with the fact that Jaime will die but I'll be SO pissed if George doesn't let them meet again and reconcile with each other before the end.) I would certainly love for them to get a happy ending somehow!

Some more random prompts: Childhood (mis)adventures. Looking out for each/having each other’s back. Hurt/comfort after one of them has to go through something especially trying. One time/various times Jaime stood up to Cersei to protect Tyrion. Canon Divergence where Jaime refuses to lie to Tyrion about Tysha.

Jeyne Westerling & Raynald Westerling
Jeyne Westerling & Any Westerling Family Member
Jeyne Westerling is one of those minor characters who’s usually not given too much thought beyond “Robb’s sweet, faithful wife” but I think she becomes a pretty interesting character, potentially, if given some more critical thoughts, if not on her own then in the context of her situation and family. Like…here’s a girl who sleeps with and then marries the man who 1) is her family’s enemy and in that capacity has done things like held her father prisoner and killed people she’s known since childhood, 2) invaded her home and held it and her family effectively hostage, 3) is someone she’d have known for at most a month but likely less before all this happens. And all this also in the context that marrying him and joining his cause is, well, treason - both to the crown and to her family’s liege lords who happen to be the Lannister and the Lannisters have…a reputation. If her actions were fully consensual, she becomes someone with a fair amount of willpower and even agency - but also becomes a less pure icon of loyalty and innocence, because it is rather selfish of her to put her entire family into that kind of difficult position just because she’s a horny/infatuated.

Of course, darker takes on this are very controversial, given Robb’s popularity as a character, but I do enjoy them! The situation is ripe for all sorts of consent issues, including more subtle situational things that maybe Robb isn’t even considering and Jeyne is only vaguely aware of if at all (e.g. how can she say no to him? But she’s attracted to him so maybe it’s fine.) And it wouldn’t be the first time that a girl, finding herself in a distressing sexual/romantic situation makes the best of it and “falls in love.”

But also…how does this affect the rest of her family and her relationship with them? I love the idea that she and Raynald are close and he’s so loyal to Robb’s cause first and foremost for her sake. But he’s also the heir to the Crag, so what does that cost him (including emotionally)? What about her sister, whose reputation and prospects suddenly become so uncertain. Even Sybil - she begins plotting with Tywin to undo what Jeyne has done and this is a betrayal of Jeyne, but she does have the rest of the children/family to think about. There’s so much potential for conflict and split loyalties here, It’s very juicy! (I absolutely DO NOT buy into the whole misogynistic Seduction Conspiracy Theory, so please, please don’t go there.)

Fire & Blood - George R. R. Martin

Fandom-specific DNWs

Team Green characters switching sides to Team Black (unless canon)
HOTD canon that clearly contradicts book canon (e.g. the changes to various characters’ ages)
Narrative gloating over/positive framing of child murder
Mushroom’s accounts that involve sexual violence (e.g. Brothel Queens, Aegon visiting a tween brothel, etc.)

I’d like to say that first, I’m aware of the show canon but this is very genuinely a book canon request, although obviously the show has fleshed out a lot of the characters who feel flat in the books so I’m not going to mind if some of those characterizations bleed through/are borrowed or anything, as long as it doesn’t directly contradict book canon.

Second, I’m not about bashing any of the characters, but I have always been a Team Green person. Not out of any love for Aegon as a character necessarily, but more because Visery’s blatant parental favoritism seriously bothered me, and it was clear that he just wanted his favorite child to be the heir and not that he wanted to change the system or anything (and instead only destabilized it, traumatized his other children, and was a big, if not main, cause of the Dance, imo). For that matter, Rhaenyra showed multiple times that she had no such interest either. If anything, I think the Dance is fun and fascinating because everyone is kind of selfish and maybe a little power-hungry, everyone is various shades of grey, no one is completely right. There aren’t any obvious heroes or modern-day progressives/liberals - these are all characters that are very much working within their culture and system and playing the game of thrones.

Alicent Hightower
Alicent made a lot of sense to me even as flat as she is in the book, and I always saw her primary motivation as her love for her children and her concern for their wellbeing and safety. While I think HOTD nailed a lot of her characterization, I’m interested in book canon here - so what changes (or doesn’t) if she and Rhaenyra are not childhood friends? What changes (or doesn’t) if she’s a couple years older when she marries and is closer in age to her husband - perhaps she has more hope for a loving and genuine marriage, yet Viserys still betrays her and her children on this account. Would love any story about her girlhood and her relationship with her father or the rest of the Hightowers. What is she up to in a Greens Win AU? Would love a story about her and her kids (either as relationship study or just fluffy/emotional moments).

Daeron Targaryen
Daeron Targaryen & Tessarion
Daeron Targaryen & His Brothers
Daeron is probably my fave book Dance-era character. He’s one of the very few characters that gets even close to the heroic-and-honorable side of the spectrum, though the war finally gets even to him (e.g. Bitterbridge). He’s someone who’s fundamentally an upstanding person, loyal and brave, values honor, but like everyone else is thrown into this devastating civil war and has to deal with all the suffering and moral ambiguity and tragedy that it brings.

What’s all that like for him? What are his relationships like with his family - his mother, his brothers? (It seems to me like there was a lot of loyalty and maybe even affection between Aegon, Aemond and Daeron, but these were probably still very complicated and complex relationships.) What about Helaena? Was Maelor his favorite nephew and did his death send Daeron off that moral cliff? What brought him back after Bitterbridge, if anything? Would be interested to see his relationship with the Hightowers side of his family, since he spent so much time in Oldtown. Maybe give him some friends he made while he was away from KL.

What does he do in a fix-it/Greens Win AU? Does Aegon rule for a long time or does he still die and Daeron becomes king? What kind of king does Daeron make? What’s his relationship like with his niece and what is left of Rhaenyra’s kids? Does he have survivor’s guilt of re: outliving most or all of his siblings?

Any and all art is great, but would just DIE for art of Daeron and his dragon!

Daeron Targaryen/Addam Velaryon
I have a special fondness for a Daeron/Addam Velaryon AU idea: after Addam escapes KL to avoid arrest, he also hears about his grandfather’s imprisonment. Instead of deciding to try to prove himself to a queen who has so mistreated him and his family despite their loyalty and sacrifices, Addam goes to Tumbleton to find Prince Daeron. He means to secure his family’s safety, even if it means switching sides… Which then leads to Daeron and Addam working together and falling in love. Ideally :D

Another enemies-to-lovers AU: what if Daeron doesn’t die so quickly at the second Tumbleton and manages to get up in the air on his dragon? He wins his fight against Addam, taking him prisoner and winning the battle (or at least saving the greater part of his host). Maybe Addam is hurt in the battle and that's what prompts then to get closer and Daeron treats him well/takes care of him while he recovers.

I would also be really interested in a scenario where they used to be friends or knew each other before the war. Either as a backdrop to a during-the-war scenario or an actual exploration of what happens when they're torn apart by the politics and the family loyalties. Love the idea of Addam having a teenage crush on Daeron but thinking that surely a Prince is way out of his league.

Daeron Targaryen/Jacaerys Velaryon
Viserys made Daeron and Jace milk brothers in the hope this would make them closer. This doesn’t seem to have worked much, but what if it had? Or what if Daeron hadn’t been away from court so much/had spent more time with Jace and the two became close(r)? How do they deal with the rising tensions on the eve of the Dance? Is their friendship/romance doomed to fail?

Some pretty similar thoughts to the Daeron/Addam above: I love the idea/exploration of two people who care about each other ending up in different sides of a war, either as enemies-to-lovers or as starcrossed lovers. With these two, I especially would love the idea of them having had the chance to get closer as children/preteens and maybe Jace having a crush that is/he thinks is one-sided. Then the war happens and everything goes to shit but then SUDDENLY they're brought together again - during a battle, one getting captured by the other, whatever. And suddenly having to deal with the old (and new) feelings and what they could have been and what they'd like to be vs what they're being forced to be. Love the angst, but also the idea of sweet hurt/cofmort and tenderness that momentarily forgets that they're supposed to be enemies.

dear ___ author letter, dear battleship writer